This blog post was written by WeCloudData’s Data Science Instructor, Tianshu Luan.

“To get the best result, students and faculty should work together to find the correct method of learning.”

About Me

I am a career switcher to the data scientist role. I graduated with a Bachelor of Education degree and was teaching Mathematics and English to international students. Through my years of teaching, I was always interested in incorporating technology to help students learn, such as designing a video game, creating an app that can answer students’ questions like a home tutor, or making a digital pet that grows with the students as they learn. To gain necessary skills, I know that I would need to understand the digital tools such as Python and database tools, to store the knowledge, such as SQL.

Why I Chose WeCloudData’s Program

After researching various universities and colleges and hearing various recommendations from friends, I decided on WeCloudData as the best program for me. The reasons are the following:

1. Intensive but not extremely time consuming.
   As I mentioned above, I needed to learn various materials, from Python to SQL. The way the Data Science Diploma program is designed fitted my needs perfectly. In the course, I learned how to write basic Python and SQL scripts, design and implement machine learning models, and connect to SQL and AWS for big data projects.
   
2. Real client projects.
   Towards the end of the bootcamp, students would have a chance to work with various companies on real projects. This allowed me to not only learn the theoretic concepts of machine learning, but also allowed me to practice it alongside technical teams from various companies.
   
3. Plenty of guest speakers.
   Aside from the regular lessons, there are often guest speakers that come in to talk about different use cases and technologies that have proven to be useful. The guest speakers are extremely knowledgeable about their areas of expertise and are available to connect through social media to continue the discussion later.
   
4. Career support.
   The team supports students with resume editing, interview training, and practice questions. This allowed me to be more confident in my job hunting. Also, there are often referrals to alumni that have graduated and are currently working in various industries.

Suggestions for Data Science Newcomers & Students

As a part of the teaching team, we are always dedicated to deliver the most interactive and engaging sessions. There are lectures in the morning along with TA office hours in the afternoon and evening to help students with any questions or discussions they have about the materials. Students are always welcome to send messages to us and we will be replying to them ASAP to allow students clear up any confusions and continue on their learning journeys.

To anyone considering the path of data scientist, the best suggestion I have for you is to practice consistently. With the way the exercises are created, we encourage our students to revisit previous questions so they can make sure they haven’t forgotten any of the materials they have learned.

For newcomers to the field, like I was, I would suggest you to take the material one at a time and make sure to understand each section before moving onto the next. Although the course is somewhat fast paced, there is plenty of time for students to practice with the exercises and TA support to help students work through the question or review the solutions.